After felling a tree, it is often necessary to divide the trunk into segments of a given size, in order to make the transport and further processing possible and easier. The further processing may be, for example, the preparation of firewood, boards, laths or beams. In order to cut the tree trunk to length, it is necessary to mark the trunk so that, when the trunk is divided up at the marking or markings, trunk segments with a desired dimension are produced.
In order to identify various distances on a trunk, it is known to fasten a metal rod having the desired length to the sprocket wheel cover of the chain saw. The metal rod is placed against the trunk and the trunk is provided with a marking of the desired length. It is also known to affix a laser to the handle of the chain saw, which identifies the required dimensions. For this purpose, the angle of the laser may be adjustable. Furthermore, it is known to employ scribes or simple yardsticks to measure off pieces of timber. However, these methods require a lot of time, are awkward and/or imprecise.